


strawberries and cigarettes

by sapphic_mais



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Cheryl Blossom Needs a Hug, Drabble Collection, F/F, Minor Fangs Fogarty/Kevin Keller, One Shot Collection, Southside Serpent Cheryl Blossom, a few oc's for realism, choni, reggie's a nice guy okay
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2018-08-30
Packaged: 2019-06-24 13:50:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,091
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15631962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sapphic_mais/pseuds/sapphic_mais
Summary: collection of choni one-shots based off prompts from tumblr. sorry i just love these precious angels i had to.title from the troye sivan song 'strawberries and cigarettes' because it makes me think of choni for some reason :)





	1. oh my gosh is that blood?

**Author's Note:**

> prompt: "oh my gosh is that blood?"

it all started when fangs came up to cheryl and toni in the student lounge. they were sitting on the red sofa, cheryl’s legs thrown causally over her girlfriend’s lap. toni had her head snuggled into the crook of cheryl’s neck, whispering quietly to her.

 

“well, don’t you two look all adorable.” fangs commented, walking towards the pair, “sorry to interrupt, but i need to talk to cheryl.”

 

toni raised her to eyebrows at fangs, wondering what he needed to say to the redhead that he couldn’t say to her. seriously, the two were basically family; why couldn’t she know?

 

“what’s this about, fangs?” toni questioned, trying to put her arm around her girlfriend. cheryl kissed her cheek and got up suddenly. “cher? you know what he wants?”

 

cheryl smiled at her and shook her head, “not at all, babe,” she replied airily, to which fangs snorted and lent over to whisper something in cheryl’s ear.

 

“hey! why can’t i know?” toni whined, putting her hand to her heart in mock hurt. the two in front of her just laughed.

 

“fine, fangs here has kindly offered to give me motorcycling lessons. which i am definitely taking, by the way.” cheryl explained, but don’t think toni didn’t notice how fangs was grinning from ear to ear. that boy was up to something, but she’d let it go for now. besides, cheryl couldn’t lie to her for long.

 

“first one tonight, red. i’ll pick you up at 8?” fangs asked, turning his attention back to cheryl.

 

“of course, any requirements as to what i need to wear?”

 

“um, yeah. wear your serpent skin and jeans would be a good idea, in case you fall off the bike.” fangs answered, laughing and giving cheryl a wink, making the girl giggle.

 

god, whatever they were doing wasn’t going to make toni happy.

 

“i will. should i use t.t’s bike?” cheryl suggested, and toni’s heart dropped. don’t get her wrong, toni loved her girlfriend (although she had failed to tell her that yet), but cheryl driving toni’s bike would be a nightmare. toni widened her eyes and shook her head rapidly at the boy, opening her mouth to protest before he interrupted her.

 

“ha, no. toni would rather die than see her baby get hurt. oh, and it would be a shame if anything happened to the bike, as well,” toni rolled her eyes and cheryl chuckled, “in all seriousness, sweet pea has been fixing up an old bike for you, as a welcoming gift. you’ll be learning on that.”

 

cheryl didn’t seem shocked, but simply replied, “that’s kind of him, i’ll be sure to thank him later.”

 

little did toni know, but cheryl had definitely already thanked sweet pea for that bike. in fact, when he himself showed her it, she jumped into his arms and kissed him on the cheek, much to the taller boy’s surprise. but toni didn’t need to know that, not yet anyways.

 

after that fangs gave cheryl and hug and let the girls get back to what they were doing, leaving the room with some comment about finding kevin and josie. the redhead settled down back on toni’s lap, pressing a soft kiss to her jaw.

 

“look, i don’t know what you’re doing tonight, but please stay safe baby. especially if you’re on that bike, but i do trust that sweet pea fixed up that bike well.” toni said, running her hand through cheryl’s hair.

 

“i trust him too.” cheryl admitted, putting her head on toni’s shoulder, humming into their embrace.

 

it warmed toni’s heart, knowing her girl was getting along so well with her two idiots, she didn’t know what she would do if she didn’t. seriously, cheryl had spent most of the summer getting to know her fellow serpents, even ones toni herself wasn’t particularly close with. she went off a lot with them without toni being there, and it never did occur to toni what they might’ve been doing. honestly, she didn’t care; she only cared that her girlfriend was enjoying herself and being a ‘normal’ teenager, or however close to normal a 16 year old gang member could get.

 

hours later the two girls were at thistlehouse in the living room, waiting for fangs to show up. actually, no. cheryl was waiting for fangs, while toni was admiring how her girlfriend looked in jeans from the sofa.

 

“now, t.t, i’m not sure what time i’m going to be home, so don’t wait up for me, okay?”  cheryl informed toni, sliding on a pit of shoes.

 

toni sighed, “but i’ll be worried about you, baby.”

 

cheryl went over to where toni was sitting and pressed their lips together slowly. toni cupped cheryl’s cheeks and moved her lips against her girlfriend’s. the kiss only lasted for a few seconds before cheryl pulled back.

 

“i’ll be fine, toni,” cheryl assured her, stroking her cheek gently.

 

suddenly, the rumble of motorcycles - yes, plural - could be heard from outside. cheryl quickly slipped on her red serpent jacket and headed to the door, opening it.

 

toni stayed on the sofa, not wanting to seem to curious, or annoy her girlfriend too much.

 

“hey, cheryl. you ready?” a female voice asked from the door. well, that sparked toni’s interest. she got up from the sofa and peered round the read head to see layla, another serpent girl, at the door. her blonde hair was half up half down, and most of her body was blocked by cheryl because of how short she was.

 

“oh, hey toni.” layla greeted with a nod of her head. toni had never been too close to the blonde girl, but ever since she had joined cheryl had taken a strange liking to her, which totally didn’t bother toni whatsoever.

 

“aight, bombshell, let’s go. don’t wanna be late.” fangs said, throwing his arm around layla.

 

toni snorted, “how can you be late to a lesson you planned?”

 

fangs craned his neck over to look at her and smile, “shush now, tiny. go inside and watch one of the 20 shows i put on your netflix list.” this made both cheryl and layla giggle. toni could’ve gagged.

 

“there better not be 20 shows, dude.” she warned, but the three were already out the door.

 

“bye baby!” cheryl shouted, getting on the back of layla’s bike. no big deal, not like toni could punch that blonde bitch right in her jaw or anything right about now.

 

“bye cher!” she shouted back, for good measure. as the bikes all came to life and they began to ride away, toni noticed another person on what looked to be quite a run down bike. it didn’t take her long to figure out that it was sweet pea on what she assumed was to be cheryl’s bike. weird how cheryl didn’t go on the back of his bike, or fangs’ for that matter. oh well.

 

she took fangs advice and started watching brooklyn 99. she realised how much she’d been missing out on, no wonder cheryl loved this show. cheryl. they’d been gone for over 5 hours now, it was currently 1:34am. toni seriously doubted a motorcycling lesson would go on this late, no matter how bad cheryl could be at it. she decided to send her a text, making sure everything was okay.

 

_toni: hey baby, everything okay? u’ve been gone ages now, i’m kinda worried x_

 

cheryl saw the notification light up on her phone from the bar and quickly typed a message back.

 

_cheryl: everything’s fine, just ran over a little late. heading home now, but catch some sleep okay? :) xx_

toni’s brows knitted together in confusion. she had known fangs her whole life, she knew he would never let it just run over 3 hours late. she had to be lying. she could feel the pit in her stomach intensify with every minute.

_toni: i’ll try to, see u soon x_

 

cheryl sighed, taking a swig of her beer. layla sat down on the stool next to her. the group of four were currently at the white wyrm, fangs and sweet pea cleaning up after a busy shift.

 

“who you textin’?” layla asked, leaning over the counter to grab another beer, only to have fangs tell her off for getting it herself.

 

“toni, she’s worried about me.” cheryl replied, turning her phone off and sliding it into her jacket pocket.

 

layla laughed, “of course she is, red. it’s pretty obvious we’re not giving you a bike lesson. hell, i’m surprised she hasn’t noticed we gave you those the second you joined us.”

 

cheryl nodded her head, “i guess it is pretty shocking, but she was just so happy i was spending time with everyone i guess she didn’t care about what we were doing.”

 

fangs finished pouring the blonde girl’s drink from behind the bar and hummed in agreement, “oh definitely. she went on and on all summer about how well the two of us get on, bombshell, and sweet pea. he’s not exactly a people person, but he likes you a lot.”

 

“hey!” sweet pea shouted from where he was wiping down a table in the corner, “i am a people person, asshole.”

 

fangs guffawed, “sure, sweets, you keep telling yourself that.” sweet pea just huffed in response.

 

“do you really think she’s going to stay up until i get home? i really don’t want her to see me like this, and i don’t have any makeup on me to cover it up.” cheryl worried, reaching up a hand to touch the gash on her right cheek.

 

“oh that girl won’t rest until you’re in her arms, trust me.” chuckled fangs fondly, shaking his head thinking about how stubborn his sister could be.

 

“maybe if you just told her you fell off the bike, she could take care of you?” layla suggested, squinting at cheryl’s face in an attempt to see the damage.

 

“yeah a little doctor/patient role play will fix all the cuts and bruises right up, red.” sweet pea added, laughing at his own joke from across the room.

 

fangs chuckled along with cheryl.

 

“you want me to ride you home?” fangs offered cheryl, changing the subject quickly, “i don’t want you to hurt yourself anymore, tonight was fucking ruthless.”

 

cheryl shook her head, “no, i’ll ride myself. i do actually need as much time on that bike as i can get. everyone’s battered, fangs, you need to go rest too.” the redhead then got off the barstool and begun to walk out. at the last minute she swerved and ran over to sweet pea, hugging the boy tightly.

 

“ah, jesus red.” the boy chuckled into her hair. cheryl had never been one for affection, but for some reason she just felt as though she could be as touchy as she wanted with the two boys, and she planned to make up for a lot of lost years with the two friendships she was building, and with layla as well. actually, most of the serpents made her feel like that, maybe it was the sense of family.

 

cheryl let go of him after a while, turning around to leave, “bye all!”

 

everyone shouted their goodbyes at her, layla told her to text her in the morning to check how she was healing.

 

cheryl was still new at this whole bike thing, but fangs and rose (layla’s best friend) had spent most of the summer teaching her, so she was definitely okay to ride it around town, especially just a quick trip home. her whole body ached as she climbed on, she hoped it would go away overnight, she really didn’t want to explain everything to toni, she knew the girl would just freak out.

 

the vixen spent most of the ride home working on not getting panicked, that was her main thing; whenever she got scared she was going to fall off, she would fall. luckily, she made it back to thistlehouse without anymore injuries. as she walked up to the front door, she noticed her bedroom light was out. _good,_ she thought, _toni’s asleep._ cheryl crept quietly up to their room, careful not to wake her nana or girlfriend. when she opened the door to her bedroom, she begun taking her jacket off and checking her skin for cuts. she noted that she should get some rubbing alcohol on them before she slept, everything had happened so quickly that no one bothered cleaning themselves up afterwards.

 

“cher, oh my gosh is that blood?” she heard toni ask from the bed, getting out from under the covers.

 

cheryl took a seat on the edge of the bed, facing away from her girlfriend. she felt toni push her hair to one side, studying the cuts and bruises she could. she ran her finger over a large bruise on the small of her back that had already starting going purple, and cheryl hissed in pain.

 

“baby... i know you didn’t get this from a bike. please don’t lie to me, what happened?” toni whispered in her ear, placing a hand on her shoulder and sitting down next to the girl.

 

“i didn’t want you to freak out.” cheryl mumbled, ashamed her girlfriend found out so quickly.

 

“about what, cher?”

 

cheryl turned to face her girlfriend, grabbing her hand, “ghoulies.”

 

toni’s eyes widened, and she clenched her jaw, “what? cheryl, why were you with ghoulies?”

 

so cheryl told her everything. from how sweet pea told her three days ago that at some point them and two others needed to guard to wyrm, because there was word that some ghoulies would attack. she was advised to not tell toni, because she would just worry or come to the wyrm and distract cheryl, and she needed to prove herself. of course, some ghoulies did attack. but between them and the serpents at the wyrm, of course everything was fine, but cheryl was maybe a little too eager to prove herself and fought back a little too hard, resulting in getting herself beat to a pulp. she was so full of adrenaline she didn’t really feel it at the time, but now her whole body ached, especially the gash on her cheek from some cheap fake ring one of the girls had. she hadn’t really noticed the blood pouring down her face, or how it had dried now.

 

“oh my god, do you have a first aid kit?” toni asked, and cheryl told her where it was. toni came back with the kit in her hands quickly and placed it down on the bed, getting to work on cheryl.

 

“you know, bombshell, you could’ve just told me.”

 

cheryl sighed, loving the feeling of being cleaned up by toni, “you would’ve freaked out baby, it was for the best. this isn’t even that bad.”

 

toni shook her head, “i really don’t wanna get used to seeing you like this.”

 

“well hopefully i’ll get stronger and better, but i’m a serpent now, i am fighting for our side.”

 

that was the end of that, then. toni understood where cheryl was coming from. when she joined the serpents she was so damn desperate to prove herself, she would’ve done (and did do) anything they wanted her to. still, she couldn’t help but worry about her girl.

 

when toni was done, she kissed cheryl’s other cheek and let the girl get changed into her pyjamas while she got back under the covers.

 

cheryl joined her minutes later, snuggling into toni’s neck, placing a kiss there. her arms were wrapped around toni’s stomach, and toni was holding cheryl tightly. no matter what had happened that night, they were safe now.

 

when cheryl had drifted off, toni whispered into the night, “i’m so happy you’re family now, cher."


	2. hey, have you seen my - oh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> prompt: "hey, have you seen my - oh"
> 
> this turned into something entirely unexpected lmao sorry
> 
> also sorry the 'paragraphs' r always so small, but i write these in the notes on my phone (professional, ik) so they look a lot bigger there :/

after the sisters of quiet mercy, it was pretty obvious cheryl and toni were a thing. well, if your name was veronica lodge.

 

veronica figured something had to be up, judging by how willing toni was to do anything to get cheryl back, and how the whole josie thing didn’t even faze her a bit. that’s where her suspicions began, and only grew as the rescue mission went on. she decided to not bother mentioning anything to kevin, seeing if the boy was smart enough to work it out on his own.

 

if she wasn’t being chased by a crowd of homophobic nuns, she would’ve cheered when she saw toni kissing cheryl. weirdly, she felt the purest happiness in her heart for cheryl, so glad her friend had finally found someone to love her, even if the two girls hadn’t realised it quite yet.

 

so yeah, veronica was to the first to officially know, but of course curiousity got the better of her, and she just had to know all the build-up and romantic little details of the new relationship. so the day cheryl returned to school veronica went to find her. she was sitting in the empty student lounge doing something on her phone, and veronica decided to sit down right next to her.

 

“okay, i’ve given you a couple days,” the raven haired girl began under cheryl’s curious gaze, “but i really can’t go any longer without knowing.”

 

cheryl tilted her head at her and knitted her brows together, “without knowing what, veronica?”

 

she sighed, “how you and toni fell in love,” she sing-songed, teasing the redhead. cheryl’s eyes widened and she put down her phone, opening her mouth to correct the girl before veronica added, “okay fine, how you and toni started dating.”

 

cheryl exhaled in relief, “that i can tell you. okay, so it all started about an hour before the drag race, we met at the 7/11 and flirted.” she explained.

 

“what was her opening line?”

 

“hey, red. anyone ever tell you you’re smoking hot? if that fire’s got a minute can you use it to light my cigarette?” cheryl chuckled fondly, recounting the memory word for word.

 

“like the song from love simon?”

 

“like the song from love simon.” cheryl confirmed, and both girls giggled, “we went back and fourth, flirting a bit. she was the biggest flirt, seriously. she told me she could ‘rock my world’,” veronica laughed, “i know, i told her it takes two to tango, and she told me that she preferred the cha cha slide.”

 

“that explains the nickname.” veronica hummed, still laughing, “why did i never know about this? this whole interaction sounds right up my alley, god i really should’ve come with you when you asked if i wanted a big gulp.”

 

“well i’ve never told anyone, there hasn’t been need to, since no one’s ever asked about toni and i’s relationship. to be honest, there’s only a few people i will tell the full story: you included, ronnie.”

 

“thank god, i really need to hear the story. okay, continue.” veronica told the girl eagerly.

 

cheryl continued to recount everything, from the drag race, to random passes by, to the bathroom, the movies, pop’s, the will reading, the sleepover, all of it. she was beaming from ear to ear the entire time, remembering every emotion her girlfriend made her feel. veronica was in love with their story, she had always been a sucker for enemies-to-“friends”-to-lovers, especially when the flirty banter from the enemies stage accidentally remains as it did with the two girls. jesus, could someone get her a toni topaz?

 

“so the rescue kiss was your first kiss?” veronica asked, grinning.

 

“yes, it was.”

 

veronica squealed, “that’s so romantic! sorry for interrupting it, but omg, that’s adorable.”

 

cheryl flicked her hair behind her shoulder, “i know. toni’s a true romantic.”

 

“god, you’re lucky.” veronica sighed

 

“trust me,” cheryl began, thinking about her precious serpent, “i know.”

 

that made veronica lodge the first, and for a while the only, one to know the full story. the next person to find out about their relationship was none other than kevin keller, who only found out moments after veronica officially did. weirdly enough, the boy never had his suspicions about the pair.

 

kevin found out when he was driving back from the sisters of quiet mercy. toni had her arms wrapped tightly around cheryl, and was placing kisses everywhere she could, thinking that him and veronica couldn’t see from the front. cheryl had fallen asleep the second toni had begun to stoke her hair and whisper into her ear softy.

 

“so, toni...” kevin trailed off, not sure how to ask his question.

 

“yeah, kev?” toni whispered, careful not to wake the girl on her lap.

 

“um... so, you and cheryl?” he asked awkwardly, hoping she understood. he looked over to veronica, who was grinning wildly, turning around to see the pair behind them.

 

“yep, me and cheryl.” replied the serpent, smiling softly, placing a kiss to the asleep girl’s cheek.

 

“veronica, you’re on ship name duty.” kevin joked, focusing on the road again.

 

“give me until the morning, kev. i’m spending the rest of the night jealous of their love.”

 

“um, let’s not use that word yet. at least, not around a potentially awake cheryl, yeah?” toni suggested, whispering worriedly again.

 

“but is it true?” kevin pushed, hoping to get something out of the pink haired girl.

 

“that’s a question for not this late at night, keller.” she responded, turning her attention back to her girl.

the next one of their friends to find out was josie. which was, awkward to say the least. it was the first day of rehearsals for the musical, and cheryl and toni were “going over lines” in the dressing room, because they knew it’d be quiet.

 

“so... finally some alone time.” toni began, sitting up on one of the counters. cheryl sat down on a chair beside her, her head dangerously close to toni’s thighs.

 

“it does look like it, topaz.” cheryl flirted, placing her hand on her girlfriends thigh over her jeans. toni’s breath hitched at the feeling.

 

cheryl reached her other hand over to get their scripts from her handbag. she passed one to her girlfriend, who laughed, “we’re not actually in here to rehearse, are we?”

 

cheryl rolled her eyes, “i thought we could get to know our characters better, t.t,”

 

“yeah? well i have a better idea, babe.” toni said, arching her eyebrows.

 

cheryl stood up, “and what would that be?”

 

toni got off the counter, getting closer to her girl, “i thought we could get to know each other instead.”

 

in one swift movement toni locked her hand under cheryl’s thigh and pulled her onto the counter, placing herself between her legs.

 

“oh, so it’s gonna be like that huh?” cheryl breathed out, her pulse picking up.

 

toni leant forward, her lips inches away from the other girls, and whispered, “it’s gonna be however i want it to be bombshell.”

 

cheryl’s chest was rising and falling rapidly, “prove it, babe.”

 

more than willing to, toni crashed their lips together, her hands moving to cup the redheads face. cheryl moaned into the kiss, which allowed toni to slide her tongue into her mouth.

 

cheryl rested her hands on toni’s shoulders, letting the serpent take control. when toni’s hands began to travel down to cheryl’s waist, the door opened,

 

“hey, have you seen my - oh.” josie said, suddenly entering the room. she immediately wanted to leave, but knew that would probably make whatever was happening worse.

 

“oh, josie, hi.” cheryl greeted, casual as ever. josie noted her smudged lipstick and uneven breathing and cringed, she really had to walk in on this didn’t she? her relationship with the redhead was in a weird place, since the whole drawings thing, and this was not going to help anything.

 

“yeah hey josie, what were you saying?” toni asked, her hands still on cheryl’s waist.

 

josie entered the room fully, looking anywhere but at the two girls, “my script, have you seen it?”

 

“no, sorry, but there’s a pile of shit over there if you wanna go through it.” toni nodded her head over to the other counter opposite the two girls. she made her way over there quickly, but she could still see the two girls in the mirror. it was kind of strange, she could see cheryl’s face in her mirror, and toni’s in the other. the couple (?) began talking quietly between themselves, but josie could still hear them.

 

“pop’s? yeah, sure.” toni whispered. cheryl tilted her head and squinted at her, “cher, i’d love to babe.”

 

“babe”. well that confirmed it. josie wondered if she was supposed to tell anyone, and just decided not to for their sakes (apart from reggie, but he didn’t count). cheryl was still her girl, regardless of whatever was going down. she was happy for her redhead, she really was. josie would tell her that at another time though, when everything was okay again. she found her script and left the couple, no question mark needed, alone again.

 

of course, toni couldn’t keep it from her boys for long. the night of the musical she went back to fangs’ trailer to calm her nerves after what’d happened with midge, accompanied by cheryl. of course she wouldn’t leave her girl alone, not tonight.

 

“red, you want anything to drink?” sweet pea asked, getting fangs’ lemonade and toni’s root beer from the fridge. cheryl and toni were sitting next to each other on fangs’ couch, and toni had her arm around cheryl’s shoulder.

 

“no, if it’s okay i’ll share with toni. i’m not usually allowed root beer.” cheryl replied, putting her head on toni’s shoulder.

 

sweet pea returned with everyone’s drinks, and a beer for himself. he took a seat next to fangs on the other sofa, “i swear, blossom, you live a strange life.”

 

cheryl nodded her head slowly, “that i do. all the better for having this girl in it though.” cheryl said, placing a kiss on toni’s cheek.

 

sweet pea raised his eyebrows and looked at fangs, wondering if the other boy knew what was going on here. fangs just shrugged and smiled, “well well well, what’s this toni?”

 

toni rolled her eyes, “a relationship, boys.”

 

sweet pea and fangs both got to their feet, laughing, “ooo, toni’s got a girlfriend, toni’s got a girlfriend.” the two sung mockingly, jumping up and down and pointing at the pair, knowing it would wind toni up.

 

cheryl seemed very confused, and both the boys could tell she wasn’t used to this kind of behaviour. fangs figured that it was better to start off like this, make sure she was used to it in time for the wedding.

 

“do you wuv each other?”

 

“do you give each other smooches?” the two continued, making kissy faces at the pink-haired girl. cheryl could tell they were just teasing, so she giggled along with them.

 

“settle down, assholes.” toni said, and the two stopped jumping, “to answer any dumb questions: yes, cheryl is my girlfriend. no, i haven’t done her yet,” toni squeezed the vixens hand to assure her that she didn’t care about that, “yes, you’ll be seeing a lot more of her, yes you can tell whoever you want and no you cannot tell her stories of anything i’ve done ever.”

 

fangs groaned at the last one, “but why can’t she know the stacey story? please toni, let me at least tell the stacy story.” fangs pleaded, pouting.

 

toni gasped, “fangs fucking fogarty if you tell my girlfriend the stacy story i’ll never forgive you, ever. that’s one of the worst moments of my entire life.”

 

sweet pea rolled his eyes and looked at cheryl, “don’t worry, we’ll tell you one day. in all seriousness, we’re happy for you, toni.”

 

fangs beamed, “truly. cheryl, i think we can skip the cliche “if you hurt my sister you’re done for” speech for now, but the sentiment is there.” toni rolled her eyes for what felt like the millionth time, and cheryl just nodded.

 

oh and last but not least, the rest of the scooby gang. don’t worry, they weren’t far behind. it was a few days later when the two girls were sharing a milkshake in a booth at pop’s when the four came through the doors. veronica smirked at them, noticing their joint hands on the table.

 

“don’t you two look cozy.” she teased, strolling up to them.

 

cheryl didn’t take her gaze off toni, “i’m sure we do, veronica.”

 

toni hummed, “cheryl’s very comfortable.” which made the two bicker about how that joke didn’t even work in the current situation. betty, jughead and archie watched the scene with curious eyes, wondering if their suspicions were correct. cheryl noticed them and scoffed.

 

“yes, you three. toni and i are officially an item. if you have any problems with that i don’t truly care. if you have any questions ask veronica, i know she’s more than happy to tell,” veronica snorted, “but aside from that i’d love to get on with my date now.”

the three just nodded, amazed that cheryl was so open with the relationship. they all felt happy for the two though, knowing that toni was breaking down the walls cheryl had put up all around herself. they all knew cheryl and toni - or choni, as veronica would inform them minutes later - were going to be a beautiful couple.

 

so yeah, that’s how everyone found out. cheryl counted herself lucky, knowing everyone accepted her for exactly who she was, and who she’d fallen in love with.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope that was better than the first, this was so different to my original idea but i actually really like it. thanks for reading, comments r always lovely :)


	3. tell me again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: “tell me again”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i dunno why this came into my head, but i found it kinda cute lol

it was the first day of summer, and cheryl woke up feeling relieved; she had three months to just be. she was sure the serpents would keep her busy, but she didn’t care. cheryl wanted to get to know all the serpents, prove she was one of them now, and she wasn’t only there for toni. toni. cheryl was really looking forward to her first summer with a significant other. being honest, cheryl didn’t exactly know what that meant. she hoped it meant that they would at least spend some time getting to know each other better. perhaps drive out of town a few times to go on some nice dates, create inside jokes, try things they’d never done before. that’s all she wanted, just to make some good memories that the two could look back on together. 

cheryl looked over at toni, who was still asleep. they were lying on cheryl’s bed, holding hands next to one another. on a technicality, it was still night, if that meant the sun had to be up. cheryl leaned over and placed a soft kiss on her girlfriends lips in an attempt to wake her up. after a few seconds toni began to kiss her back, humming..

after a minute, cheryl pulled back and sat up, “morning babe.” she whispered, hoping toni wouldn’t notice it wasn’t the morning yet through the shut curtains.

toni sat up too and gave a groggy smile, “hi pretty.”

cheryl reached her hand out to cup toni’s jaw, “i have a surprise for you today.”

“what is it, baby?” the pink haired girl asked, leaning into cheryl’s pale hand.

“just get up and get ready, and hurry.” cheryl instructed, dropping her hand and getting out of bed.

toni followed her lead, getting out of bed. she got her duffel bag full of clothes and looked through it. you see, she still hadn’t put her clothes in the space cheryl had cleared for her in the wardrobe. the two got ready in silence, cheryl hoping toni would like her surprise, and toni wondering what it was.

“okay babe, i’m ready.” toni said after a while.

“let’s get in the car then, honey.” cheryl replied chirpily, grabbing toni’s hand. on their way out, toni checked the time on her phone: 4:55. toni groaned, wondering why her girlfriend wanted her up this early on the first day of summer. to be fair to her girl, they had gone to sleep at around 8 the previous night, exhausted by recent events.

cheryl turned and the engine and begun to drive. toni asked, “cher, why are we up at 5am, before the sun’s up, and why can’t i look in the back of the car?”

cheryl sighed and rolled her eyes, “you’ll find out soon enough sweetheart.”

toni decided to just wait, hoping it would involve sleeping. she moved her hand to rest on her girlfriend’s upper thigh, squeezing lightly. toni closed her eyes, not caring about trying to work out where they were going, trying to get in some more rest.

the drive went by pretty quickly. cheryl was singing along to the best of broadway cd. she would give her girlfriend an glace lnce in a while, grinning to herself. she couldn’t believe how lucky she was. “toni, baby, we’re here.” cheryl murmured, squeezing the hand on her thigh.

toni groaned and opened her eyes, looking around at her darkened surroundings. she heard the rushing of water and felt the warm summer air hug her skin. the serpent knew where they were, sweetwater river. toni looked at cheryl, who was opening the back door to get something from the backseat. two picnic baskets. toni realised what was happening and got out of the car to stand next to her girlfriend, humming, “a picnic?”

cheryl nodded, not meeting her eye, “i wanted to watch the sunset with you, i thought it would be nice.” cheryl looked at her with concern, “you do like it right? i’m sorry if it was a stupid idea, i was just excited to spend some time together. i know it’s early but i couldn’t wait until sunset, if you want to we can just-“

toni interrupted cheryl’s worried rambles with a kiss. it started off tenderly, cheryl wrapping her arms tightly around toni’s neck. toni ran her tongue along cheryl’s bottom lip, asking for entrance. the redhead opened her mouth, sighing as toni’s tongue entered her mouth. she let the other girl take control, enjoying the moment. toni pulled back and cupped cheryl’s face softly, “cher, i love this. there’s no one else i would get up for this early, i don’t care if it’s 4am or 11pm, i wanna spend time with you babe. thank you this, it’s so thoughtful.”

toni bent down to pick up one of the baskets, which felt pretty light. with her other hand she reached out for cheryl’s. the two began walking to a clear spot right next to the water and to the left of some rocks. cheryl opened toni’s basket laid down a red and white plaid blanket, which toni begun to put everything out on. toni was happy it was breakfast food, but she had no idea when cheryl had got the time to make it.

“i’m going to be honest. t.t. i may have just went to walmart in greendale to get these, so they wouldn’t spoil overnight and all. veronica assured me everything would still taste nice.” cheryl admitted, putting out a packet of pancakes. “well, everything apart from the maple syrup. which i can promise you is the only good thing my family has ever done.”

toni nodded, “they serve it in pop’s right?”

“yes, they do. it’s one of the reasons i was allowed to go there so much as a child.” cheryl passed toni a plate as she answered.

toni looked at cheryl, “why here?” 

cheryl squnited at her, “what do you mean?”

”why are we at sweetwater river? i can think of at least 10 more practical places to have a picnic and watch the sunset in riverdale. why did you wanna have it here? not that i don’t love it, because i actually do really love this place.” 

”this is the last place i saw jason. it’s where they found his dead body. it’s where my mother banned me from coming, for fears i might be partaking in ‘deviant’ activities. which is true, but she doesn’t need to know. anyways, i just wanted to make this a place for happy memories, and i know i can trust you to do that for me.“ cheryl explained.

toni gave her girlfriend a soft glance, “i’m more than happy to make this a good place for you, cheryl. i didn’t know about the jason thing, genuinely. are you sure you’re ready to be here, red?”

cheryl laughed, “you sound like sweet pea. yes, i’m fine. i don’t want this to be a place i’m scared of anymore. i want to think of sweetwater river and think about you, and all our friends. i want to think of this place and smile, like everyone else does. not think about that time in the ice.” cheryl’s eyes widened, remembering toni didn’t know her back then. she hoped the pink-haired girl wouldn’t pick up on that comment, but of course she would.

”i thought jason died in summer? cher?” toni asked, her eyes full of love.

”okay, i’m going to tell you, but please don’t judge me.” cheryl whispered.

toni shifted over to sit next to her girlfriend, throwing a comforting arm over her shoulder. with her other hand, she took one of cheryl’s in her own, “i would never judge you, baby.”

”it happened last year, october maybe.“ that was how cheryl begun. she had never told anyone the story. all the relevant people in her life already knew (veronixa had told josie right after it had happened). toni held her as she told it, sparse tears running down her cheeks, that toni kissed away. it was hard, thinking about the time when she thought death was the only option. “it was hard, because even though they saved me, right after they just left me alone. well, veronica let me dry off at hers and made me a hot drink, but apart from that, nothing. i guess they just didn’t want another death, which is understandable. i do wish they had realised why i wanted to die,” toni winced, “because i was lonely.”

“cher...” toni rubbed the vixens shoulder soothingly, “i’ve told you, you’re not alone.“

cheryl shook her head sadly, “but i was. i really was.”

”but you had josie-“

”she was obsessed with josie and the pussycats.”

”babe,” toni began, meeting cheryl‘s eyes, “she loves you. archie saved you, veronica was your friend, she’s told me. i know you felt alone, and your friends weren’t the best, but you weren‘t alone. from now on, i’m making it my personal job to assure you never feel lonely again. i want you to know you always have me, even if you think it’s you against the world, it’s not. it’s you and me cher. i know we haven’t been dating that long but this feels so right. i love... i love spending time with you, and i always want to see you. even if we do nothing. i don‘t want you to ever feel lonely again.”

cheryl leaned her head on toni’s shoulder while toni moved the hand that was holding cheryl’s to wipe the girl‘s tears. toni’s words felt like a warm blanket to cheryl, comforting her. toni kissed cheryl‘s cheek, soft as ever, to make sure cheryl felt her words. and she did.

”thank you, toni. thank you for coming into my life, and looking passed who i pretended to be. thank you for being the most wonderful, kind, understanding person i know. i’m so happy i didn’t die that day here, because if i did i would’ve never met you.“

toni‘s heart clenched uncomfortably, “i don’t wanna think about that. right now, i wanna think about us. you and i, cheryl blossom, are going to be in each other’s lives for a very, very long time. i’m promising you that right now.” she moved her hand back to hold cheryl‘s. the redhead leaned even more into her girlfriend, until she eventually ended up with her head in her lap. toni stroked cheryl’s hair while cheryl sighed contently. they both were sporting happy smiles as they looked towards the rising sun.

“have i ever told you how beautiful you are?” toni asked, the sun hitting her girlfriend’s face, the glow lighting up her features.

cheryl grinned, “tell me again”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the next few chapters i’ll be taking prompts from my tumblr, so if u want me to do anything please do leave one!! tumblr: https://sapphic-mais.tumblr.com/ask


	4. just trust me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> prompt: "just trust me"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aha sorry this took so long!! i've just gotten back from croatia so ive been quite busy

toni was looking forward to date night. friday was her and cheryl's night to spend time together and relax. some of the couple's best memories came from date night, like mini golf or sketching each other. this week they decided they were going to stay at home and watch some netflix. that's what she thought, anyways.

toni was walking to her spanish class friday morning when she felt a hand rest on the bare small of her back. "hi t.t." cheryl greeted, falling into step next to her.

toni smiled, "hey pretty." cheryl begun to rub her back, causing a shiver to run up her spine.

"i know we said this week that we'd watch netflix and cuddle tonight, but veronica came up with a better idea." cheryl began, nervous about toni's reaction to the change in plans.

"what is it?" toni asked, putting her arm around cheryl's waist.

"how do you feel about instead of it only being us, it's all our close friends? and instead of it being at home, it's in the city? and instead of netflix, it's karaoke? to make my message clear, i'm doing karaoke with our friends tonight. i don't want to skip date night, and i love yo- your company. so please, will you come with us?" cheryl explained, cringing at her slip up. it was way too early for those three words.

toni gave her a loving look, "i'd love to. i mean, i'm not the best singer but sweet pea will be there to even that out. he's invited right?"

"of course, i've already asked him. i didn't ask layla, rose or any of the others; they're not exactly our closest friends."

"yeah, i mean you  barely even speak to layla." toni grumbled, feeling the familiar feeling in her stomach.

cheryl laughed, "that's not exactly true, is it? i mean, i did spend a lot of the summer with her babe."

toni scowled to herself, "yeah, but you spent more time with me."

cheryl turned to look at the pink haired girl, concerned, "of course, why does that matter?"

toni shook her head, "it doesn't, i'm only reminding you."

"reminding me of what?"

toni shrugged, "who your girlfriend is, as opposed to your girl friends."

cheryl stopped walking and  carefully pushed toni against a locker. toni gasped and widened her eyes as cheryl trapped her between her arms, "you're jealous!" she exclaimed. 

scoffing, toni replied, "i'm not jealous." 

cheryl grinned, "wow, who knew you could get jealous so quick?"

"i am not jealous, cher!"

as it so happened, one veronica lodge walked passed the pair as toni shouted this. "wow, trouble in paradise, ladies?"

cheryl turned around and chuckled, "toni here is getting a bit possessive."

veronica raised her eyebrows and giggled, "ooo, someone's jealous? good luck, cher. i'll leave you two to it." and with that the girl walked off. typical.

toni groaned, "i'm not jealous of that fucking bitch," cheryl gave her a look, "not veronica, layla. i mean, she isn't the one who gets to do this, is she?" toni said, leaning forward to press her lips to cheryl's. her hand moved up to cup the taller girls cheek, stroking it  lovingly . cheryl hummed into the kiss, smiling.

"blossom! topaz! get to class!" principal weatherbee shouted at the two girls from the end of the hallway.

"ugh, how cliche." cheryl complained, rolling her eyes. toni smirked at her girl as cheryl pushed off the locker. kissing her cheek, cheryl said, "see you later, angel."

toni grinned, "bye, beautiful." cheryl walked off, fast walking to catch up with veronica, as they were in the same french class. toni stayed put, her back still up against the locker and mind on her cheryl blossom's lips.

"topaz! i'm serious!" weatherbee's voice shook toni out of her daze. she began running to spanish, realising she'd missed the warning bell and the final bell. "no running!"

toni stopped and turned around, "dude, do you want me to get to class or not?" 

he gave her a warning look, so she shut her mouth and turned around. taking a page out of her girlfriend's book and fast-walking all the way to an almost detention.

when the end of the day rolled around, she made her way from algebra to the school parking lot. from the steps, she looked over to the serpent bikes, which was where she usually met cheryl after school. when she noticed she wasn't there, she cast her gaze over to the other side of the parking lot. she knew everyone else would be there.  literally , everyone. well, only their close friends, but still. toni was not close enough to some of these people to embarrass herself in front of them tonight. shit, she hadn’t even thought of that.

sweet pea met her eye from his spot next to reggie and smiled. god, that was a weird dynamic. they had  been forced to spend a lot of time together recently, so both boys were warming up to each other. toni hated it. she made her way over to the group.

"topaz!" fangs shouted, running over to her, "look at what cheryl gave sweet pea!" he handed her a small box. inside, there was a golden ring. it had two snakes on either end and a green gem in the middle. "it's real gucci!" fangs had the excitement of a little boy on christmas morning in his eyes.

toni looked at her girlfriend, who  was engaged in some hand war with veronica and reggie. she was sat atop the back of a blue convertible, she guessed it was reggie‘s.e?" she asked  just as cheryl gave reggie's chest a hit, which made veronica shriek with laughter.

cheryl turned her attention over to her, moving her thigh to dodge a hit from veronica, "yes?"

"any explanation for the gift?" 

"ah," cheryl grinned, "a thank you for the bike."

sweet pea stepped forward and took the box off her, "it's so fucking cool, don't you think?" he took the ring out of the box and slid it onto his right ring finger.

toni cupped his hand, admiring how it sparkled in the light, "it's fucking beautiful, jesus. pea, if you dare break this is swear to god.”

“trust me i’m not planning on it.” sweet pea said, “it cost £250.”

toni almost went into shock, “cheryl!”

cheryl shook her head, “it’s nothing. i’m sure the bike cost more in the long run.”

toni made her way over to her girlfriend and wrapped her arms around her in a tight hug. “god, you’re amazing. you  really didn’t have to do that.” before cheryl protested, she changed the subject, “i missed you.”

cheryl sighed into the serpents shoulder, “i saw you at lunch.”

“that was too long ago.” 

“awwww, aren’t you too adorable.” reggie cooed from beside them, making veronica giggle. cheryl pulled away from the hug to land a kick to his right hand, which was hanging open.

“ha!” veronica screamed, laughing so hard her face went red, cheryl giggling along too. toni pulled herself up to sit next to her girlfriend on the car, realising they weren’t going for a while. in fact, they’d almost 100% be the last people here. she put her arm around cheryl’s waist and decided to spectate.

“no fair blossom, it was time out.” reggie whined.

“who on earth said the words ‘time out’ reg?” veronica asked, still laughing to herself. reggie huffed in response before hitting her arm. the dark haired girl gasped.

“i don’t get this game at all.” toni whispered to cheryl.

“oh, basically you have to catch the person off guard. distract them some way, or do it while they’re distracted. it’s actually funnier when you do it as a conversation game. you need a few more people for that, we’ll show you-“ cheryl explained before being hit lightly in the face by veronica.

cheryl shrieked and sat up straight, “veronica lodge, you fucking bitch!”

it continued on like what for a while. the three distracted and hit each otherwhile toni watched. it was a weird, unexpected game for northsiders to be playing. especially these three. it seemed like something her, fangs and sweet pea would’ve come up with when they were 11. the conversation version sounded interesting. how could you distract someone then catch them off guard in conversation? the whole premise sounded so northside, she was desperate to play it.

“hey guys, should we start to head out?” archie shouted from where he was talking to josie, fangs and jughead. god, these events were for unlikely friendships.

“yeah, that’d be a good idea. it’s like a 30 minute drive, we gotta be there by 5.” moose agreed. since when was moose here? toni was getting more and more anxious every person she noticed. who was next, ethel? no, cheryl and veronica planned this, they wouldn’t. 

“what time is it?” a female voice asked, but toni didn’t quite catch who it was.

“shit, it’s 4:35.” sweet pea said, “serpents, we’ll take our bikes. it’ll get us there quicker, so we can sort out everything. well, red can sort out everything.” he commanded, nodding towards cheryl.

cheryl got off reggie’s car and held her hand out for toni, who accepted it. “that’s fine. car people, don’t be too far behind, though.” 

everyone got into their respective vehicle. the serpents made their way over to their motorcycles. cheryl’s bike was a lot nicer now, her and sweet pea had spent a lot of sunday afternoons working on it. adding red details in places, making sure the metal was so shiny you could see yourself in it - that sort of stuff. the fact that cheryl had been getting lessons for over four months made toni feel weird. she can’t count how many times cheryl had gotten on the back of her bike because she ‘couldn’t drive one’. not that she minded at all, but still. a massive plus was that cheryl looked ravishing driving the bikes. even though she was stubborn and refused to wear her helmet. she couldn’t help but worry for her girlfriend right now. she was wearing the same outfit she wore the first day of rehearsals for the musical, skirt and shirt. at least she had fishnets and her red serpent jacket added. though somehow toni doubted the tights would do much if cheryl were to fall off the bike. 

betty got on the back of jug’s bike. she was still learning with her mum’s old one. toni was only  just getting used to the fact that betty was going to be the serpent queen. well,  potentially . after betty had been an official serpent for three months the serpents would vote. but first they had to choose another girl incase they didn't vote betty. toni felt good about her chances of being that girl, the only other person wanting it being layla. of-fucking-course. 

jughead told her they were taking the more off-road route, because they were going into the city. they couldn’t afford to get into more trouble with the law. the ride wasn’t long, but toni almost crashed about 20 times.  just about every time she glanced over at cheryl,  basically . 

when they arrived, everyone else was already there. how the fuck? toni checked the time on her phone, 4:55. 

noticing their confused faces, chuck explained, “short cut. and reggie’s got a fast car. how the girls got here  quickly in josie’s car is a mystery.” CHUCK? as in chuck clayton? toni was going to faint. oh, and turns out the ‘girls’ included valerie, who toni had said  all of four words to ever. those four words being, “hey, i’m toni.” to which the girl introduced herself and toni responded “cool”. so, in cheryl and veronica’s eyes, these were their closest friends? toni was starting to miss layla, at least the girl’s family.

when cheryl noticed toni’s anxious face, she parked her bike and headed to her. “hey, what’s wrong?”

toni sighed, “what if like, everyone here hates me. or at least the people i don’t know. cher, chuck’s here.”

cheryl smiles  softly at her, “i know he is babe. veronica invited him. and dear, it’s impossible to not like you. i know these people, you’ll be a hit.”

“what if you’re wrong?” toni asked, still  uncharacteristically nervous.

“ just trust me.”

so it turned out it wasn’t like a karaoke bar. it was actually a big room with unlimited song choices, a screen, and enough microphones for  all of them. this made toni feel better. it  was called norebang, some korean thing. the room itself was lovely. big enough not to feel crowded and small enough to feel cozy. there was a sofa built into the wall that stretched across two walls, and a couple tables. a stage was in front of the screen, along with four microphone stands. the room had a purple hue that  was emitted from the lights. the vibe was lovely. 

“who wants to go first?” reggie looked around the room.

“cheryl, ronnie, wanna do it?” josie asked, already heading towards the stage.

both girls in question shot out of their seats. “only if we can do the thing.” veronica stated, picking up a mic.

“what else would we start on?” cheryl laughed, getting up the song they wanted.

as soon as the music started, everyone knew what song it was. josie took the first line, “ i  was cheated by you and  i think you know when. ” of course. of course these three were starting off the night with mamma mia. what shocked everyone the most was the fact that they had perfect choreography. everyone was screaming, hyping the three girls up. toni had to admit she was having a lot more fun than she expected, sitting on the couch  in between sweet pea and betty.

by the last chorus, the choreography had changed  slightly . instead of staying on the stage, the three girls started coming towards the couch. veronica went in front of archie, who was on the part of the couch to the left of the stage. josie went to reggie, who was in the corner of the couch. and cheryl went to toni, who was  directly in front of the stage.

“ mamma mia, here i go again .” cheryl smiles at toni while singing, shimmying her shoulder.

“ my, my how can i resist ya? ” she winked at her, and toni couldn’t help but laugh.

“ mamma mia, does it show again? my, my,  just how much i missed ya? ” toni couldn’t take her eyes of cheryl. she had never noticed how young cheryl  really was. sure they were all the same age but sometimes cheryl looked a lot older than 17. but right here in this moment she looked like a happy teenager. 

“ yes i’ve  been broken hearted ,  blue since the day we parted. ” woah, since when was cheryl such a good singer?

“ why, why did i ever let you go?”  cheryl gave her an adorable pout, coming closer to her.

“ mamma mia, now i  really know. my, my i should not have let you go.”  at the last line she landed into toni’s lap, wrapping her arm around her shoulders. cheryl kissed her cheek, giggling. toni noticed the other two girls were in their boyfriend’s arms. well, toni had no clue what the nature of josie and reggie’s relationship was, but she didn’t care. she only cared about the girl on her lap. 

as the night went on everyone seemed to get more and more comfortable with each other. even sweet pea and moose ended up doing an  incredibly drunken version of  too cool from  camp rock.  it was a true mess. the only person who had yet to preform was toni, and not for lack of cheryl trying. every time the stage was free cheryl would grab toni’s hand and ask her to sing with her. toni wished she could, but she couldn’t seem to relax. every time she told her no, her heart hurt at the defeated look she would give her. 

at around 8, reggie sat down beside her while cheryl was in the bathroom. “topaz, look. i know cheryl; she wants you to sing with her, or at least relax a fucking bit. chuck has gone to get his car and some alcohol. you know, since sweet pea is already too drunk to ride back to riverdale. you guys can leave your bikes here and come in someone’s car. c’mon, have drink and relax, dude. it’ll make your girl happy, and you’ll have one hell of a night. we have to be out by 11, don’t  just sit here.” reggie suggested, holding out a beer for her. she took it. toni couldn’t help but wonder why reggie was trying to help her out.

“why? what’s your angle, reggie.” she asked, arching her eyebrow at him.

he scoffed, “i’ve known cheryl my whole life. she’s finally having fun, i want her girlfriend to join her. is that too much to ask?” 

she sighed, “no, but i still don’t  fully trust you.”

about half an hour later, everyone apart from reggie, chuck and valerie were drunk. toni felt kind of bad they couldn’t get drunk because they had to drive everyone home. she ended up drinking too much to care.

“baby, baby. will you please sing with me now?” cheryl slurred into her neck, sitting on her lap still.

“fuck yeah!” toni exclaimed.

the two ran to the stage, kevin choosing the song. everyone in the fucking room knew exactly what song it was as soon as the guitar riff came in.

the couple each got a microphone stand and started dancing.

“ hey! uh-huh.”  cheryl began.

“ what i like about you, you hold me tight.”  toni wrapped an arm around her girlfriend, who leaned into her touch. “ tell me i’m the only one wanna come over tonight.” cheryl rolled her body back into toni’s chest. 

“ you’re whispering in my ear, tell me all the things that i wanna hear.”  toni leaned over and licked up cheryl’s earlobe as a joke. she didn’t expect to feel the redheads whole body shiver. that was interesting. toni could hear veronica scream  excitedly from the corner.

cheryl and toni kept on with what they were doing, singing dancing and flirting all at time same time. they got to the end bit where “ that’s what i like about you.”  was repeated no less than a million times. toni grabbed cheryl’s hand and spun her around, grinning  wildly at her. toni felt her whole body relax, and she could finally let her guard down.

as the music faded out everyone cheered. cheryl launched forward and pressed their lips together. the kiss was sloppy and passionate -  just what you’d expect from two drunk teenagers. with their arms wrapped around each other, toni pulled back. cheryl smiled  gleefully .

“i told you to  just trust me.”


	5. my love, it could kill you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this actually isn't from a prompt lol i just needed to quickly write something. sorry for the long wait, but we stan a queen whose left all her summer homework until the last 4 days :)

you probably know by now when toni first met cheryl, she asked her to light her cigarette because she was hot. the redhead took it as a stupid opening line, but it was a lot more than that. toni was ashamed to admit it, but yes: she smoked. she knew it was bad for her, but she couldn’t help it. like a lot of things, only sweet pea and fangs knew. well, jughead and betty as well. that was just because they caught her lighting a cigarette in her mouth behind pop’s. it wasn’t exactly her greatest moment. toni really tried to keep the number of people who knew small, she didn’t need everyone’s judgement. and she was smart with it. after smoking a lot, she would change all her clothes, brush her teeth two times and only let cheryl kiss her cheek. honestly, she was fucking terrified about what cheryl would say if she found out. she knew cheryl hated the idea of smoking, and always said it smelled “disgusting”. yeah, her girlfriend was definitely never finding out. that meant none of cheryl’s friends could find out, like veronica or josie. they would just pressure her into telling cheryl or drop hints all the time. they seemed okay but toni just didn’t trust them enough with this. she only trusted her boys.

one night she was finishing her shift at the wrym. she had to do an hours overtime because of how busy it had been that night; it was only her and rose working. as she was grabbing her bag to leave, rose entered the backroom.

“hey topaz, crazy night.” she commented, shaking her head and she brushed passed her to grab a blue denim backpack. toni tried to appear as casual as possible as she rummaged through her bag.

“you could say that again.” toni chuckled, her searching getting more frantic. rose seemed to noice this and arched her eyebrow at her.

“what you lookin’ for in there?” the redhead asked, leaning against the wooden post by the coat rack. toni turned to look at her, seeing amusement in her emerald eyes.

“my, uh, phone. my phone. gotta see if cheryl’s texted me.” she lied, hoping the mention of cheryl would change the subject. rose loved cheryl.

“well, your phones right there.” rose nodded to the bench that her bag was leaning on, trying to hold in a laugh. toni inwardly scowled at herself. she really was the dumbest bitch she knew. even fangs wouldn’t have done that. “you gonna tell me what you’re actually looking for?”

toni snapped, “it’s none of your business.”

rose put her hands up in surrender, “hey, if you don’t wanna tell me that’s cool. you just seem wound up and i though you might wanna talk to someone. i have known you since we were in middle school, dude. you can trust me.” she moved a hand to squeeze toni’s upper arms comfortingly.

“it’s just, fuck. i think i left my lighter at sweet pea’s trailer. you have one?” she sighed, hoping rose wouldn’t ask too many questions. they weren’t that close, sure, but she was pretty sure rose knew her well enough to know when to just comply. 

the girl took a second to understand before nodding her head slowly, “ah, i get it. yeah i carry one around in case i ever get stranded and need to start a fire.” she pulled a blue lighter out of her pocket and handed it to her fellow serpent.

“you and i have very different needs.” toni thought aloud.

“that we do. anyways, i gotta go, layla’s waiting for me. see you later, toni.” toni almost gagged at the mention of layla.

“see you.” she echoed as rose swung open the door and left. toni sat down on the bench in front of her and leaned against the wall. she took a cigarette out of the packet and lit it. it had been a fucking long night.

toni got home at around 2am after staying outside the wrym for three hours. when she got to thistlehouse she saw that cheryl’s bedroom light was still on. maybe she was being optimistic but she hoped cheryl wasn’t waiting up for her.

just before she turned the doorknob, she realised she hadn’t changed her clothes. fuck. maybe cheryl wasn’t going to notice. only if she was lucky. she stepped into the room, hesitating a bit. cheryl was sitting on the bed, resting against the headboard. she had her phone in her hand and an angry look on her face.

“antoinette marie topaz, you better have an astounding reason as to why you’re coming home at 2am after working a shift that i know ended at 11, and when i texted the group chat with everyone on it, they all said they hadn’t heard from you.” cheryl drawled out, getting out of bed deliberately slowly. damn her girlfriend and her sexy flair for the dramatics.

“baby, i just got caught up.” toni explained. it wasn’t exactly a lie, maybe.

“with what?” cheryl asked, stalking towards her.

“um. to be quite honest i was on my bike.”

cheryl raised her eyebrows, “going where?”

“nowhere. i just sat on it.” revealed toni.

“why?” cheryl questioned as she came to a stop in front of the girl.

“um, because-“

cheryl coughed, “oh my god, toni. what is that?”

toni’s brows furrowed together, “what’s what?”

cheryl’s face scrunched up, “that smell. god, that’s hideous. oh my god is that cigarettes?”

toni stiffened. fuck, she’d been caught. hopefully she could just lie her way out, cheryl would freak if she knew the truth.

“what? no.” needless to say toni wasn’t a good liar.

cheryl gasped, “antoinette! you smoke? how could you not tell me you smoke?”

toni blowed air out her mouth, “pff, no.”

“toni.”

“i don’t.”

“toni.”

“what? i’m not lying.”

“toni!” cheryl shrieked. she looked genuinely upset with her.

“fine! i smoke okay! it takes the edge off.” she murmured the last part, hoping that would be the end of it, but knowing it wouldn’t.

“toni, why?” cheryl asked, softer than her previous tone. 

“because it makes me feel better. it’s a stress reliever.”

“it’s addictive.”

“you don’t think i know that?” 

cheryl stepped ever closer to toni, cupping her cheek tenderly, “my love, it could kill you.”

toni smiled weakly, “cheryl please. please don’t try to change this. i really don’t need your judgement on this.” cheryl nodded understandingly.

“okay. but promise me you’ll cut down at least? i really don’t like it.” she pouted.

toni put her hand on cheryl’s waist, pressing their bodies together and leaning into cheryl’s hand on her cheek, “promise.”

“no more secrets as well.”

“no more.” toni confirmed, pressing a delicate kiss to cheryl’s lips, relishing in the taste of her lipstick. only cheryl blossom would have lipstick on at 2am. cheryl pulled back after a few seconds, making a disgusted face.

“i like you a lot toni but please go brush your teeth. your breath right now is so... ew.” cheryl commanded. 

“fine. but when i’m finished...” toni winked.

“we’re sleeping. it’s 2am toni.” cheryl informed her, making her way back to the bed.

“ugh. fine. in the morning...” she trailed off, going into the en suite.

“toni!”

needless to say, cheryl was a lot more understanding than toni had expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope u guys thought that little chapter was okay. for the next chapter would you guys prefer choni phone tours or choni + toni's parents?

**Author's Note:**

> sorry this is kinda bad but i wanted to find a way to introduce some key relationships and characters early on, they will get better i promise. thank you for reading, comments r always lovely :)


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